1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electrosurgical instruments and, more particularly, to an electrosurgical handpiece having a plurality of hand-accessible variable controls.
2. Background of Related Art
During electrosurgery, a source or active electrode delivers energy, such as radio frequency (RF) energy, from an electrosurgical generator to a patient and a return electrode or a plurality thereof carry current back to the electrosurgical generator. In monopolar electrosurgery, the source electrode is typically a hand-held instrument placed by the surgeon at the surgical site and the high current density flow at this electrode creates the desired surgical effect of ablating, cutting or coagulating tissue. The patient return electrodes are placed at a remote site from the source electrode and are typically in the form of pads adhesively adhered to the patient.
Bipolar electrosurgery is conventionally practiced using an electrosurgical forceps-type device, where the active and return electrodes are housed within opposing forceps' jaws. The return electrode is placed in close proximity to the active electrode (current supplying) such that an electrical circuit is formed between the two electrodes (e.g., electrosurgical forceps). In this manner, the applied electrical current is limited to the body tissue positioned between the electrodes.
Electrosurgical instruments have become widely used by surgeons in recent years. Accordingly, a need has developed for equipment and instruments which are easy to handle, are reliable and are safe in an operating environment. Generally, most electrosurgical instruments are hand-held instruments, e.g., an electrosurgical pencil, which transfer radio-frequency (RF) electrical energy to a tissue site.
Electrosurgical procedures are performed in operating rooms including a variety of equipment, e.g., an operating table, operating lights, smoke evacuation systems, insufflation systems, etc. During surgical procedures, the surgeon and his staff need to operate each of these devices. However, controls for these devices are located throughout the operating room away from the sterile field instead of a single central location therein. In order to interact with the controls, the surgeon must momentarily stop the procedure and focus his attention away from the sterile field. For instance, to adjust the light output level the surgeon must move outside the sterile field to lighting controls or ask for assistance to do so. These methods have a few drawbacks, for example, asking another person to adjust the controls does not provide the same level of exactitude and feedback that the surgeon would be able to achieve in adjusting the desired apparatus himself. Furthermore, the adjustment accomplished by the surgeon himself requires that he leave the sterile field and cease the procedure temporarily, resulting in unneeded interruptions and risks of contamination of the surgical site.
Therefore, there is a need for a control system having controls for a variety of operating room equipment disposed on a single apparatus found within the sterile field.